The Arts
In Forge of Destiny, there exist special techniques, practices and magical abilities powered by the supernatural energy Qi, which cultivators call Arts. These form a massive portion of a cultivator's existence, with Arts setting them apart from mortals by giving them special powers, like the ability to throw fireballs or open cracks in the earth. However, this is the most basic and most easily understood use for Arts, especially among mortals or novice Immortals and there is much more to the subject than this. The use of Arts is in truth a way for cultivators to shape their individual journey along the Path of the Immortal and to change the world around them. Mastering Arts also requires progression along the Path, with each "step" or "level" of an Art requiring some minimum stage in Spiritual or Physical cultivation, and sometimes both. This connection to the Path of course means that they are incredibly, nigh infinitely, varied because cultivators are also nigh infinitely varied. Categorizing them is not completely hopeless however for multiple reasons. Cultivation Arts and Technique Bearing Arts All known Arts fall into one of two categories: Cultivation Arts or technique bearing Arts, the second always simply referred to as "Arts". Cultivation Arts are special methods of breathing and meditation for taking in Qi and advancing along the Path of the Immortal. They provide incredibly useful benefits to cultivators, and are in many ways often necessary for their advancement. They also encourage a particular ethos and means of behavior amongst cultivators, or incite them to go on quests or complete tasks for a patron Great Spirit. Amongst the things they can improve are a cultivator's ability to open meridians, the effectiveness of special cultivation sites, and a cultivator's abilities with certain elements. They also greatly influence how the aura and dantian of a cultivator develops, and not all Cultivation Arts are compatible with all other Cultivation Arts. Cultivation Arts inform and shape what future Cultivation Arts a cultivator can use as they grow through the Realms, as incompatible Cultivation Arts can cancel out each other's benefits and create other detrimental effects. Technique bearing Arts are special forms like martial arts katas, and special ways of moving specific types of elemental Qi through specific Meridians to produce particular effects. As the name suggests these Arts are broken up into Techniques which are individual abilities that generally have some kind of specific effect on a target or the world. For example a fireball, bark-like skin, healing, qi sensing, qi draining, illusion formation and nearly every other "magical" effect one can think of. These Arts form the basis for most of cultivator combat, military action, advanced socializing and bureaucratic jobs and their passive effects assist the cultivator even when not being actively used. They also intersect with the Domain and presumably the Way as one progresses along the Path of the Immortal, providing insights and teachings which can alter a cultivator's Domain. Art Aspects All Arts are somehow connected to the Yin and Yang aspects. Arts which are reactive, passive or subtle are generally Yin aspected. This can range from becoming immaterial to avoid attacks, to poisoning an opponent. Arts which are aggressive, active, and flashy are usually Yang aspected and also the types of arts most famous amongst mortals. Examples include arts which block damage directly or burn the enemy to cinders with bolts from the heavens. Balanced arts are mixtures of these two, and have a wide range of effects and uses. Usually they employ the concepts of harmony and opposition to achieve something, particularly in regards to elements. The Argent Peak Sect and in particular its Head, Yuan He, are known for Arts which are Balanced. Cultivation Arts often have bonuses for Yin or Yang aspected Arts which speed up their cultivation and training. Art Elemental and Meridian Alignment All Arts, besides having Yin, Yang, or Balanced Aspects, also have some form of elemental connection. This is how you get things like an Art which throws lines of flame at a target. Such a thing would be a Fire Art, which uses the Element of Fire to do something or manifest a change in the world. In theory all elements can do everything, since these elements are more metaphysical concepts or abstractions than the Aristotelian elements familiar to many. However, some are better at certain things than others, due to conceptual similarities, like Fire being better at burning things than Wind. Most Arts have one to two elemental connections, which also ties into Cultivation Arts, which can make arts of certain elements easier to cultivate and train. All technique based Arts require certain combinations of opened Meridians in order to achieve whatever they are supposed to do. These Meridians are aligned to a specific element of Qi and then shape how that Art manifests in the world, whether that be lances of earth to seeing the blood in people's bodies. Cultivation Arts do not use Meridians, as they are more related to the dantian of a cultivator. The History of Arts and their Development The history of Arts is mostly unknown to Ling Qi and the player-base at this point in time. From what lore has been encountered the first Arts were created from Humans watching and being taught by spirits and spirit beasts. How long ago these first interactions occurred is completely unknown, beyond that it must have been sometime between the creation of humanity in the primordial era and the formation of the Bai 30,000 years ago. Since their inception Arts have been invented, refined, re-invented in new forms, and mutated through a long course of cultivator interaction between themselves and the world around them. Spirits also still have a strong connection to this process with their inborn abilities and magic, which has been outright observed in the quest directly via Ling Qi's interaction with the ice spirit Lady Zeqing. Art Advancement Arts, both Cultivation and Technique Bearing, are split between levels or stages of understanding. These are essentially guideposts for how advanced and skilled a student is in the Art and its teachings. These levels are the primary path to improving Arts, with new levels opening either; new techniques, refinements of old techniques, and new meridian requirements. However, leveling by itself is not the only way to improve or change an Art, at least for Technique Bearing Arts. Another way is leveling an Art while benefiting from the patronage of a Great Spirit. This can create a change in the techniques of the Art, personalizing the Art to that specific cultivator. The most prominent example currently known is with the changes to Sable Crescent Step after the player-base chose the Grinning Moon as a patron and they leveled the Art, and were provided with the Grinning Crescent Dancer technique, a powerful variant fusion of two previous techniques. Patronage also plays an important role in the advancement of some Cultivation Arts. The Eight Phase Ceremony Art Ling Qi uses, and which synergizes with Sable Crescent Step and Forgotten Vale Melody, required choosing patron in order to advance. This choice went on to influence Sable Crescent Step, as previously described. Another method of Art improvement is that of insights. They are rare, and usually occur after intense battle for a goal important to the cultivator. Usually small as well, they have changed how techniques work, and how effective they are by sometimes adding new functionality. 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